Improvement in take-up devices for sewing-machines



J'. L. FOLL'ETT.

TAKE-UP DEVICE FOR SEWING-MACHINES. No. 189,44 Patented. April 10, 1877.

N- PETERS, PHDTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D c.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH L. FOLLETT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN TAKE-UP DEVICES FOR SEWING-MACHINES- Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 189,446, dated April 10, 1877;application filed January 22, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. FOLLETT, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen ts inThread-Controlling or Take-Up Devices in Sewing-Machines, of Wghifih thefollowing is a specification: I

In most take-ups which operate by a threadcarrying lever, in combinationwith a stationary or movable cam or other device acting upon the threadin opposite direction to the motion of the lever, the thread isgenerally thrown out of the lever, or held away therefrom, or isotherwise operated in such way as to suddenly create a full slack of thethread, which, it has been found, is a source of trouble andinconvenience, inasmuch as such slack is liable to kink, to catch withother movable parts of the machine, or to be thrown around the point ofthe needle.

. continuation of said eye, and being operated by the needle-arm,ashereinafter described, so that the needle-thread which is or may becarried by said thread-carrier shall be held in said eyes across thepath or the plane of the cast-ofl' until the said thread shall, by thedescent of the needle, be carried up against the cast-01f, and by itthrown into the longitudinal slot of said lever/and therein held,following the inclined plane or planes of the slot until the completionof the stroke of the needle. During the descent of the needle theinclination of the slotted lever is reversed, allowing the thread toslide down toward the eye as it is taken up by the hook or otherloopforming device.

The lever may be of curvilinear or other irregular form, according tothe requirements in the paying out of the slack.

The cast-off may be'made adjustable, so as to properly time its actionupon the thread.

It is obvious that this take-up may be used in connection with anysewing-machine, using either one or two threads, and whether the same bea shuttle or hook machine.

The pivot for the oscillating lever I prefer to surround withsound-deadening substance, and for this purpose I form around the shankof the pivot a rawhide sleeve, which may have flanges on either end; or,instead of flanges, separate washers may be introduced for that purpose.This will also insure accuracy of movement, as the parts are not liableto be worn by the interposition of this or any equivalent substance.

To enable others to make and use my said invention, I shall now proceedto describe in detail the structure of the several parts of my machine,which parts, in conjunction with each other or separately, perform theseveral functions to which reference has been made in the opening ofthis specificatiomand referring to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is an elevation of the parts which constitute my saidimprovements in take-up in sewing-machines.

The needle-arm and needle-bar are merely indicated in dotted axiallines, a being the point of connection of the needle-arm with theneedle-bar; b, the fulcrum of the needlearm; 0, the connection of theneedle-arm with the connecting-rod, through which vibratory movement isimparted to the former from a pulley upon the driving-shaft.

The goose neck, or frame inclosing the mechanism referred to, as well asthe take-up, hereinafter to be described, is indicated in outlines.

The take-up proper is fully shown in elevation, with the exception ofits pivotal bearings, which is shown in section,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a section of the goose-neck, whichcarries the thread-controlling and take-up devices.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of part of said goose-neck, showing theconstruction of the pivot. In said figures, A is that part of thegoose-neck to which the support of the spool of the needle-thread, aswell as the needlethread tension and needle-thread controlling andtake-up devices, are attached.

For the purpose of this specification I shall omit reference to all andany parts not direct- 1y co-opcrating with the take-up, or which mayhave been described in patents previously issued to me, or which may bethe subjec matter of separate applications for patents.

Upon the inside of the plate A, and ata proper distance from the fulcrumb of the needle-bar, is arranged the fulcrum-pin B, which may consist ofa headed shank, the end of which is screw-threaded to be screwed intothe goose-neck. Upon this fulcrum-pin is mounted a cam, O, which formspart of the take-up lever I). The latter is composed of a bar, the outerend of which is divided or forked, in the sense of its width, eachbranch of said fork forming, in the sense of its depth, an eye, a c. Thebar is also divided longitudinally, and in the sense of its depth, so asto form an upper and lower bar, d d; or a slot, which, continuingthroughout the wholelength of the bar and the forked portion thereof,opens into the respective eyes of the forked ends of the lever D, andterminates at the opposite end of said lever, where it is connected witha spur, E, projecting from the lever-op crating cam O. This cam, orstraddle-piece, as it may be termed, is shaped to embrace thefulcrum-pin on the needle-arm, and hold the same so embraced during theupward and downward motions of the needle-arm, and im' part to the leverD the requisite motion, as hereinafter set forth. In the path of theforked end of the lever I) I arrange a heart or diamond, or otherwisesuitably shaped blade or cast ofl', G, which is held stationary in itsproper relation to the eyes on the lever D by means of a set-screw, g,whereby the position of the said blade may be properly adjusted.

To avoid wear and noise of, and to insure accuracy in the operation of,the machine, I provide the fulcrum or other pivotal bearing withsuitable leather or rawhide washer. Thus the fulcrum-pin on theneedle-arm is surrounded with tightly-fitting leather ring 1', and thefulcrum-pin B is provided with a leather or rawhide lining, 8, aroundall the surfaces which are or may be in contact and friction. Inasmuchas the cam is mounted upon a headed pin against the wall of thegoose-neck, it is important that the lining should extend both aroundthe shank and against the head of the pin and the wall of thegoose-neck, so that the metallic portions of the parts may be entirelyisolated by a sound-deafening substance which will also prevent the wearof them. To this end the leather or rawhide washer may be formed withtwo side flanges; or a cylindrical washer may be put on the shankbetween two laterally-projecting leather or rawhide disks, Which latterwill prevent the cam from coming in lateral contact with the fulcrum-pinor the side of the goose-neck.

The sides of the goose-neck are correspondingly slotted at m forconvenience of threading the take-up, as will appear from thedescription of the modus operandi. Finally, at

o, by means of a screw, is secured a small wire spring, n, around whichthe thread passes when properly applied to the takeup, bearing upon thethread occasionally with gentle pressure.

The operation of the device, the detailed construction of which I havedescribed, is as follows:

The thread from the spool is conveyed through a suitable tensionapparatus through the goose-neck, for which purpose a hooked instrumentis used, which is passed transversely through the goose'neclt at thelateral openings m. Care should be taken, however, toso first set theneedle-bar as to bring the eyes 6 e of the take-up opposite the saidopenings, and this is done when the needle-arm is at or near its highestpoint of elevation or stroke. With the hooked instrument thus introducedinto the goose-neck through the eyes of the take-up, the thread isseized and pulled through and brought out at the opposite side of thegoose-neck. The same instrument is now introduced through an opening orthe thence to the needle. When the machine is .now operated it will beseen that the downward stroke of the needle or needle-arm will cause thelever D, with the thread held across the two eyes e e, to rise until itpasses the point of the blade or cast-01f G, when the thread, coming incontact with the inclined edge of said cast-01f, will be pushed backinto the longitudinal slot (1 d.

The further depression of the needle-bar will cause the lever D toassume such an inclined position as to induce the thread to slip of itsown accord down the incline of the slot in the lever. The thread isthus, while released from the take-up, held up and prevented fromdropping down upon the needle or forming kinks, or otherwise interferingwith the perfect operation of the sewing mechanism. When the needle isabout to resume its upward motion the thread is lodged in the closed endor bottom of the slot, and as the needle ascends the outer end of thetake-up descends, and, its inclination becoming reversed, it will beseen that by the time the needle is about completing its upward strokethe slotted bar shall have assumed a downwardly-inclined position, andthus shall have gradually let the thread down its incline and'paid outthe slack at the completion of the stitch.

These operations, by virtue of the nicety of the action of the take-up,may be effected with 7 a matter of nicety than of necessity, to retainthe thread at certain points of the stroke of the needle, and this maybe effected by making the slot formed by d and d of an angular orcurvilinear form.

It will also be understood from the foregoing description that thistake-up, operating symmetrically with the up-and-down motions of theneedle, is made to operate in conjunction with any machine, whether thesame has a mechanism feeding one way or the other, or capable of movingand operating alike in either way. It is also. applicable tosewingmachines of any description, whether double or single thread, andwhether using a reciprocating. or rotary looping device, whether they beshuttle or hook machines.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A sewing-machine take-up, constructed and operating substantially asherein shown and described, so that while the positive hold of thetake-up on the thread is released at the proper time with respect to theneedle, the take-up still acts to control and pay out gradually theslack created by the release of the thread, as set forth.

2. In a take-up, the combination of a vibratory do uble-eyed longitudinally-slotted threadcarrier and a cast-oft, the two being combinedfor operation, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. The combination of the vibratory threadcarrying lever with astationary cast-ofl', the latter being capable of adjustment for theregulating of its action upon the needle-thread in the thread-carrier,substantially as shown and set forth.

4. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the vibratorydouble-eyed longitudinally-slotted thread-carrier, the cast-ofi', andthe spring-holder n.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

J. L. FOLLETT.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. MILLER, CHAS. H. WILsoN.

